May 25
Mark 16 (ESV)
The Resurrection
16:1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.] [1]
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
9 [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
The Great Commission
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]
We know not how he had learned to love Christ, and to desire to do Him honor. We know nothing of his subsequent history after our Lord left the world. All we know is the touching collection of facts before us. We are told that he “waited for the kingdom of God,” and that at a time when our Lord’s disciples had all forsaken Him, He “went in boldly unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus,” and buried it honorably in his own tomb.
Let us observe, in these verses, the visible signs and wonders which accompanied our Lord’s death. Mark mentions two in particular, which demand our attention. One is the darkening of the sun for the space of three hours. The other is the rending of the veil which divided the holy of holies from the holy place in the temple. Both were miraculous events. Both had, no doubt, a deep meaning about them. Both were calculated to arrest the attention of the whole multitude assembled at Jerusalem. The darkness would strike even thoughtless Gentiles, like Pilate and the Roman soldiers. The rent veil would strike even Annas and Caiaphas and their unbelieving companions. There were probably few houses in Jerusalem that evening in which men would not say, “we have heard and seen unusual things today.”
First of all we see Jesus delivered into the hands of the Roman soldiers, as a criminal condemned to death. He before whom the whole world will one day stand and be judged, allowed Himself to be sentenced unjustly, and given over into the hands of wicked men.
Secondly, we see Jesus insulted and made a laughing-stock by the Roman soldiers. They “clothed Him with purple” in derision, and put “a crown of thorns” on His head, in mockery of his kingdom. “They smote Him on the head with a reed, and spit upon Him,” as one utterly contemptible, and no better than “the filth of the world.” (1 Cor. 4:13.)
Thirdly, we see Jesus stripped of His garments and crucified naked before His enemies. The soldiers who led Him away “parted His garments, casting lots upon them.”
Fourthly, we see Jesus suffering the most ignominious and humiliating of all deaths, even the death of the cross. It was the punishment reserved for the worst of malefactors. The man on whom it was inflicted was counted accursed. It is written, “Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.” (Gal. 3:13.)
Fifthly, we see Jesus reckoned a transgressor and a sinner. ”With him they crucify two thieves.” He who had done no sin, and in whom there was no deceit, “was numbered with the transgressors.”
And why was this? It was that we, in our last hours, through faith in Christ may have strong consolation. It all came to pass that we may enjoy a strong assurance–may know whom we have believed, and may go down the valley of the shadow of death fearing no evil.
Arguing from the greater to the lesser
Posted: May 25, 2013 by Pam Larson in April, Devotionals/Commentaries, Mark, MayTags: Arguing from the greater to the lesser, Bible, Bible daily, Bible reading, Bible study, Coty Pinckney, daily Bible, Mark, Scripture
Mark 16:6-7 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
“Just as He said….” Jesus always keeps His promises! Coty Pinckney explains,
I’m reminded of a promise given to us in Romans 8:32….“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all (a HARD thing), how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (EASY for God)?” The argument here is similar. The greater to the lesser. If God can do a hard thing, he can do an easy thing!